EXTRACTS

By the Spirit, God has a living voice to us, and I want to hear that voice. We come into the kingdom, and the fact of being there brings us to the house, and then I am conscious that there is a living voice that speaks and that brings me to the assembly. Where there is natural vitality there is power to throw off humours, and so, spiritually, there is the power to throw off spiritual humours, malice, guile, hypocrisy, etc. We have to see to the building up of spiritual affections; then by the sincere milk of the word food becomes assimilated. The Holy Spirit came to establish the kingdom, i.e., the sway, the domination of grace, but as He did not become incarnate He must have a dwelling-place, and therefore He formed the house.

Both Peter and Paul preached the kingdom. It began to be announced by the Lord. There is power down here to maintain the kingdom, because the Holy Spirit is here, and if He is here we have the house and the living voice of the Holy Spirit. God is speaking, He is not silent now. We have the scripture, but we get also a living voice; so he that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

There would be no kingdom here if there were not a power here commensurate with the authority at the right hand of God. The kingdom is the education for the church. The saints in early days were taught of the Holy Spirit before they had the written word; the living voice of the Holy Spirit was here. Everything has to be tested by Scripture; your appeal has to be to the law and the testimony, and all that is not according to the scripture has to be refused, but I do maintain that there is the living voice of the Spirit to be heard. Think of the mighty voice of God in His house in the early days of Christianity! The power is there still, but the vessel is marred, and therefore the effect of that mighty voice is less apparent. A distinguished servant like Timothy had to learn how to behave himself in the house of God; great as he was, he had to order his conduct according to the house.

F. E. Raven (Vol. 4, pp.25, 26)

Scripture may confirm itself, but does not necessarily repeat. One scripture is enough to establish any point, as John 10: 35 shows. Some would make the Old Testament secondary, or a matter of detail, but the New Testament constantly insists on the equality of the Old Testament with itself.

J. Taylor (Vol. 67, p.580)

The “crown” is the distinction and glory which saints have as cherishing Christ and His thoughts of the assembly. There is an unremitting effort to take it away, and it is needful to “hold fast”. Religious literature is often very subtle and ensnaring, and many suffer more loss than they are aware of by reading it. Keep yourself in the atmosphere of Scripture, and feed on spiritual ministry. I remember when newly converted coming to the conclusion that it was well to read the best that is available, and I commend this as a good principle to young believers.

C. A. Coates (‘An Outline of Revelation’, pp.57, 58)

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